UW associate head coach Greg Gard raved about the athletic ability and tenacity of Holloway, 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, and Buckner, 6-9 and 235. "Just relentless on the glass," Gard said. "Both him and Buckner attack the glass a lot like Michigan State does; a lot like Minnesota did.

"They just keep coming after you. . . . And they know that (Marshall) Henderson is going to shoot the ball quite a bit. So their chance to go get their hands on it is to go rebound what he misses."

Can UW's big men keep Ole Miss from snaring a high number of offensive rebounds? The Badgers did lead the Big Ten in defensive rebounding percentage (.732) so they have shown the ability to control the glass. They need to keep Holloway and Buckner from getting to loose balls on Friday.

"Those guys are big and physical and athletic and relentless," Berggren said. "We watched film on them and it showed them just eating up the glass.

"If you don't match their aggressiveness and physical play they will eat you up. We faced that all year long in the Big Ten.

"I've been saying all year long that what we faced in the Big Ten is great preparation for what we're going to see in the tournament."

Berggren was a non-factor in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State. That cannot happen in the NCAA Tournament or UW could lose to any foe, including Ole Miss.

Bruesewitz, who is shooting just 28.2% from three-point range, warmed in the Big Ten tournament by hitting 5 of 13 attempts (38.5%). If he continues that trend it will help UW's offense immensely.

Evans was fabulous in victories over Michigan and Indiana in the Big Ten tournament. If he continues his strong play down low, scoring and finding open shooters, UW could make a deep run in the tournament.

Edge: Even.

Backcourt

Summers suffered a concussion in the SEC quarterfinals against Missouri and sat out the semifinals and title game. He is expected to play Friday. Summers is a terrific point guard who takes care of the ball (3.7 assists, 1.6 turnovers) and adds 9.0 points per game.

Henderson is the player UW must stop or at least control to keep Ole Miss from springing the upset. Henderson has taken 24% of the Rebels' field-goal attempts (507 of 2,110), including 52.4% of their three-pointers (367 of 701).

He averages 10.8 three-point attempts per game but is crafty enough to use fakes against aggressive defenders to draw fouls or get into the lane.

"He can get his shot in a lot of different ways," Gard said. "And he is labeled just as a shooter. And the numbers show that 72% of his shots are threes. But I've seen him get so many other buckets in different ways."

When Williams was knocked out of the SEC tournament, reserve Derrick Millinghaus took over. He hit the game-winner against Missouri and then averaged 8.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.0 turnover per game in the semifinals and title game.

Jackson has improved dramatically for UW since early in the season and has shown the ability to hit crucial shots late in a possession or in a game. He must take care of the ball because Ole Miss averages 8.4 steals per game and the Rebels' opponents average 15.6 turnovers per game.

Brust has developed a solid all-around offensive game after coming to UW as little more than a spot-up shooter. He is averaging 11.2 points per game overall, 12.3 over the last 13 games. He must stay aggressive and hunt for his shots both from three-point range and near the basket.

"He kind of makes me mad when he's not as aggressive as he should be," Jackson said. "I don't care if he's missing because he is that good of a shooter. I've been trying to encourage him to do that, play more loose and more aggressive."

Edge: Ole Miss.

Coaches

UW's Bo Ryan vs. Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy.

UW is making its 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Ryan, in his 12th season as head coach. The Badgers have lost their opening game just once under Ryan and have reached the Sweet 16 in three of the last five seasons.

Kennedy, in his seventh season at Ole Miss, failed to guide the Rebels to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first six seasons. However, the Rebels are on a roll. Their NCAA bubble appeared to burst with a 73-67 loss to Mississippi State on March 2 but they've since won five consecutive games.